Three of the most fantastic stories of miracles the God supposedly performed for Israel in the war on terror in Gaza made the round of social media and several websites, but they are pure fiction.

Social media have given thrill-seekers an instant explosive to set off bombastic headlines written by hasty editors trying to beat the competition and then having to delete the stories when discovering that they never happened.

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The most disturbing report occurred before the war and after Hamas terrorists kidnapped three Israeli yeshiva students. Within hours, some idiot spread on “WhatsApp” the fairy tale that the IDF killed the kidnappers south of Hebron and freed the three students, sending thrills of joy to the parents. Shortly afterwards, they had to deal with the bitter truth that their children still were in captivity and their fate was unknown. After more than two weeks of agony, they were found dead.

One of the most fabulous presumed miracles in the war was spread on a couple of websites in Israel and the United States last week, based on a supposed quote from a soldier operating the Iron Dome anti-missile system.

The story, which never happened, was that his team fired an interceptor at an oncoming rocket from Gaza that was headed smack into the Azriella Tower in Tel Aviv. The interceptor missed its mark, and the team fired a second interceptor, which also missed its target.

That is a rare event, but the story gets better – or worse. The soldiers fired a third interceptor, and that one also failed to down the rocket, which momentarily was about to cause a human disaster and blow the high-rise to bits.

Suddenly, God sent a wind, apparently the same one that split the Red Sea in the Exodus from Egypt. The wind miraculously blew the missile out to sea, according to the report.

Believe that one and you will love the second.

A week after a Hamas female suicide terrorist blew herself to pieces along with two Israeli soldiers, a story made the rounds that a greater tragedy was prevented. The woman, so the story goes, actually was a Jew who had married an Arab in Gaza.

When an Israeli soldier saw her about to blow up a suicide vest and take a few soldiers with her, he yelled out loud “Shema Yisrael,” the beginning of the prayer Jews recite when facing certain death. The woman, being a Jew, heard the ”Shema Yisrael” and, knowing the power of prayer, fled the scene, leaving the vest behind.

The third take is the best of all and allegedly was told on a Haredi radio station.

Haredi Jews in Bnei Brak supposedly were looking for wheat that they could harvest before next Pesach and use for a matzo factory.

They for looking for wheat so early because next year on the Hebrew calendar is a year of “Shmittah,” which falls every seven years and when the land is to rest. Haredi Jews who maintain a strict view on observing the limitation of work during Shmittah, such as not irrigating Jewish-owned fields, were looking for wheat that was planted last in the season but was irrigated with late rains, allowing it to grow and be ready for harvest before the new year begins late next month.

Quoting a rabbi, the report stated that the Haredim “found an entire field sown in mid-January, which was considered very unusual.” The supposed field was located ay Kibbutz Sufa, next to the Gaza border.

“We ran into military police, as well as undercover and regular police who came to check out who we were,” according to the report’s quote of the rabbi who led the search for the wheat field. While sirens were blaring and bombs and rockets were falling, the holy team from Bnei Break was “busy harvesting and transferring the wheat to trucks and moving them towards the cleaning plant.”

And now the clincher.

“Two days later, 13 terrorists came from Gaza out from the tunnel which opened into the fields near Sufa,” the report stated.. “The terrorists had been planning a big attack, and had been counting on hiding among Sufa’s giant wheat field, which the matzo makers had just chopped down in its entirety. The terrorists couldn’t understand how their camouflage had disappeared.

“The empty field enabled military observers to easily spot and identify the terrorists and open fire on them. Many Jewish lives were thus saved by the grace of Heaven.”

The real truth is that similar to the Six-Day War in 1967, there were indeed miracles in the war, despite the deaths of 64 soldiers and three civilians.

The miracles are there, All one has to do is to realize that God created the same man who created the Iron Dome and that there was no need for a miracle wind.

Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu is a graduate in journalism and economics from The George Washington University. He has worked as a cub reporter in rural Virginia and as senior copy editor for major Canadian metropolitan dailies. Tzvi wrote for Arutz Sheva for several years before joining the Jewish Press.

Agreed. I had/have my doubts about the truth of the first 2 stories, less so about the 3rd, but this article just says that all three stories are not true without giving any more proof than that given when the stories were first spread. Tell us how you know these stories are not true. Give the names of hte editors who made them up. or what seed of truth they grew out of?

I heard the story about the wheat harvest on the Haredi radio station (Radio Kol Chail, I think). There is nothing “allegedly” about the story being told on the radio. The narrator, Rabbi Samet, who supervised the harvest, said that when he heard about the infiltrators, “Ha’asimon nafal”–meaning, literally, the coin dropped, or “something clicked into place.”

Imagine someone makes up a story that you once killed someone by hitting him on the head with a frozen herring, and you claim the story is not true.

According to you, if you can’t prove that you never killed someone by hitting him on the head with a frozen herring, it’s possible that you did do this.

When someone comes along with an amazing story and without proof that it’s true, then it’s reasonable to assume that it’s not true.

For example, if someone claims that a rocket was blown off-course in the middle of Tel Aviv but there isn’t a single reliable witness, and not one of the thousands of people in the streets of Tel Aviv at the time made a video of this, it’s reasonable to assume that it’s not true.

Yonatan Silver no. if someone comes to tell you that he saw someone walk on water, and someone else comes to tell you that it is all made up, then i’d like to know why person B is so certain that A didn;t see what he/she saw. in your hypothetical case.

Rabbi Coopersmith from Aish HaTorah wrote an article in which he states that he verified the female suicide bomber story with people in a position to know and he’s satisfied that it’s true. The JP article is very shallow. Yes, every event is essentially a miracle. Which doesn’t change the fact that more open hashgacha pratis miracles also occur and are worthy of note because they increase bitachon.It is fine to want to verify those kinds of stories. It is not so fine to label them false with zero evidence!

Forget your story, the REALstory is how Israelis prayed for each other without knowing them. Now, we Israelis need to pressure Bibi to wipe out Hamas without any soldiers entering Aza. How, with bunker busting bombs. How will get these bombs or pay for them, by taxing the international rebuilding money that the world wants to do.
We were hung out to dry by the UN, US, EU and others over 1,000 plus deaths. What is the difference if we wipe them ALL out? Same Hague thing. No other country in the world including the US sends flyers and text messages to civilians to leave. Islamic war is to embed your rockets in hospitals, home, kindergartens to maximize the carnage. So it goes in Iraq, Afganistan, Syria etc where NO Jews/Israelis are fighting. G-d needs to save us from Bibi, Zoabie, supreme court , peace now and others who want to give YOUR home away but keep their multi million USD apts safe.

I’m sure you know what the Kuzari says about miracles that were not witnessed by a significant number of people.

They don’t always increase bitachon. Sometimes ridiculous stories which have no reliable witnesses like the suicide bomber or the guy who is going around changing water into wine and walking on water border on chillul hashem – they make Judaism look silly and full of buba meises.

And sometimes it goes beyond ridiculous: Like the picture that was circulating after the Pope was elected showing a cloud that looks like an angel. A while later, exactly the same picture appears and Jews start insisting that this cloud was seen above Gaza.

Fay Kay There’s a story going around that last February you started howling when there was a full moon.

Have you made any serious effort to prove that his is not true? Have you even tried to verify details. Why shouldn’t we believe it is true that you howled when there was a full moon unless someone proves that it is not true.

Actually, it’s the person who comes out with the story who has to prove that it is true.

Not only discrediting them without clear evidence, but with such an abhorrent tone….using phrases like “the clincher” and expressions like “if you loved that one then you’ll really love this….” The sarcasm used with intention to destroy peoples’ bitachon is really disgusting–especially from a Jewish publication.

just once the winning numbers of next week’s lottery draw should appear in the sky.

I was particularly impressed by the one going around about the dead famous rabbi that appeared in the middle of a battle and handed out a poem. Unfortunately, he hadn’t signed it, so it won’t fetch much on ebay.

Rahel F Adye, one doesn’t need evidence to discredit a story that is not verified.

For example, if someone made up a story that you howl when there’s a full moon, you can claim that the story is not true *even if you cannot provide evidence that you have never howled when there is a full moon*. It is the one who makes up a silly story that has to provide the evidence that it IS true.

Yonatan Silver As I recall, the missile’s trajectory was such that it HAD to hit the expected target. The fact that it veered off-course only verifies reportedly even a terrorist proclaimed which was, “Their G-d changed the path of our rockets.” If the missile had to strike its target based on its trajectory but did not, then something was responsible for changing its course. So how would YOU account for it?

Yonatan Silver Your hypothetical examples are not analogous. There are things we know. We know what the trajectory of the missile was. There were witnesses to the field having been sown. And since when is a chayal not a credible witness?

So what did happen with the missile, did the dome get it? Either way, it’s still a miracle that the towers were not hit, Baruch Hashem.

It’s sad when stories go around and then we find that’s not what happened. It makes people question even more whether or not to believe. But even if we don’t know what is what, we should still realize that Hashem(G-d) is protecting us. It’s a miracle that tunnels were found so they can be destroyed. And it’s a miracle that there are very few casualties from the Gaza missiles, Baruch Hashem. We need to stay strong and continue to stand with each other and Hashem(G-d)

there are 3500 rockets fired into israel from gaza there are only 9 iron domes to intecept them the casualties are only 3 civilians you try to convince us that that there are no miracles? what an unbelief!

Yonatan Silver You are deliberately obtuse aren’t you? Or perhaps just stupid–that’s also an option.

If a missile is headed toward Tel Aviv. 1) a siren goes off 2) all civilians head to a safe room 3) Missile is intercepted by iron Dome 4) hopefully the shrapnel doesn’t hit anybody or damage anything. 5) People come out.
It’s pretty impossible to see a missile and its trajectory from the ground anyway.

And before you jump on me, I specifically rebuked the person who told me that specific story because I don’t think untrue stories–or even stories that seem impossible but may have happened but can’t be verified–should be spread. (First person accounts being the obvious exception)

So, I can’t understand why people are so dissatisfied with the real miracles that they have to make up stories about Hashem playing tricks and causing the Iron Dome to miss rockets or spirits suddenly appearing in the middle of a battle and giving out a poem, or a cloud shaped like an angel.

Yonatan Silver Welcome to the debate forum called the internet. But nowhere did I call you names, I called you out on being deliberately obtuse.

And if you can’t be bothered not to hold a grudge until Yom Kippur over a namecalling, I’m quite sure I don’t need to worry about your forgiveness anyway. I can see it now, “Dear God, this guy I don’t know called me a name. I’m holding it against him. But please forgive me for my sins”

Yonatan Silver I’m sorry you took it personally. The quoted statement above was me emphasizing the fact that in all the comments I’ve seen from you on this comment section, you are intentionally playing the idiot.

Perhaps next time don’t attack comments without making a real argument? If you do that you can expect me not “to call you names”.

Yonatan Silver Funny–That wasn’t the impression I got from your critique of the harvest, when a source was cited. Nor was it the impression I got from your critique of the female suicide bomber. And it definitely wasn’t obvious from your critique here.

You want to be taken seriously, don’t throw out ridiculous straw man arguments. Furthermore, don’t defend an article that has nothing to it other than “It isn’t true because I say so”.

Yonatan Silver And thus…if I say I went to the bathroom today, nobody saw me, that means it’s automatically not true? You know as well as I do that more than one witness isn’t necessary for a story. If you can follow the thread and prove its untruth, wonderful. That’s journalism. Not “It isn’t true, believe me because I say it isn’t so”

Now me, I look at believability of stories. If it sounds plausable: great. Hasn’t done me any harm.
Things that can be thrown off as coincidence: believable.

Rahel F Adye I’d assume God didn’t change anything, and that – given the “terrorist who witnessed it” and supposedly is quoted is completely unidentified, and only reported vaguely second hand – the whole thing never happened. I’d imagine anyone could make up a quote and attribute it to someone who doesn’t exist.

Rahel F Adye I'd assume God didn't change anything, and that – given the "terrorist who witnessed it" and supposedly is quoted is completely unidentified, and only reported vaguely second hand – the whole thing never happened. I'd imagine anyone could make up a quote and attribute it to someone who doesn't exist.